


Third Agent's the Charm

by Aykorn



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Action, Coming of Age, Gen, Illustrated, Original Character(s), Squid Kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-17
Updated: 2015-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-09 18:43:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4360136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aykorn/pseuds/Aykorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Until their 14th birthday, it’s every Inkling’s dream to make their way to the top in ink battles. Inkopolis: it’s where everyone wants to be and where everyone finds who they are. It’s where she put on the hero suit because she had the “right look in her eyes” and found what she was fighting for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What not to do on the bus

**Author's Note:**

> I was told that Splatoon: The Anime: The Fanfiction was a bad title, so I present to you....this... amalgam of hyper-analyzing a Nintendo game.  
> But seriously, I'm glad to get the ball rolling.
> 
> Here's the prologue. Enjoy.
> 
> Any critiques or comments are appreciated!

The first time she’d heard of an ink battle was now little more than a memory.

She wanted to stay up past her bedtime. The TV left on by a snoring parent beckoned, glowing like an ember in the nighttime.

She didn’t quite get what she saw, but it was fast and bold and bright. The once dull map filled with swatches of blue, then orange, then blue again, converging at the center and shifting fiercely. The announcers sounded ready to jump out of their seats. They were uncertain--anyone could win, folks-- but the energy they spoke with was contagious.

The players swooped through their own colors and fired a rain of ink onto their opponents. Precise blasts of orange tore lines through the blue turf, and in retaliation, another player hopped out of the ink and began spraying the blue back in place. Suddenly, an ink roller descended on that player and slammed them into the ground, leaving only a sploosh of orange ink in their place.

It was incredible. It felt like all three of her hearts were racing. She could have been there in person, cheering for the winning team as the timer counted down and the judge declared the victors. And maybe she was cheering, because soon, her mostly awake parent scooped her off to bed.

That night she would dream of turf wars and splattered ink. She’d pester her parents about it in the morning and play make-believe ink battles during recess.

When she got older, watching turf wars at night, then chatting excitedly before class was just normal routine. Even when other interests caught her eye, ink battles would always be at the back of her mind.

Because how could they not be? Ink battles wouldn’t leave her daydreams, not when all she’d have to do was wait and they’d be reality. Her 14th birthday, like so many other inkling’s big 14’s, would mark the day she could live and breathe ink battles. Her life would really begin the day she arrived at the center for all turf wars, the grand city of…

\-----

“This isn’t Inkopolis.”

The inkling girl sat up on her knees, peering out the bus window. Outside, the road dropped off at a staircase, leading to what looked like a random park. It was all cement and ghostly empty, aside from the lone pair of trees at either edge of the boxed-in area. If you squinted, it was… quaint.

The girl slowly turned to the bus driver with an almost disturbed look. “I mean it’s just a hunch,” she frowned, “but this isn’t exactly the _big city_.” She waited for some sort of response. “You know, the ‘-opolis’ part in Inkopolis?”

The shrimp driving the bus only gave a shrug, and responded chilly. “Either way this is definitely your stop.”

Mildly confused, she squinted at him. She couldn’t really tell if he was kidding or not, what with his shrimp-ish carapace instead of a mouth or main facial features. But from his eyes, he looked pretty pleased with himself.

The bus door swung wide open.

She instantly grabbed hold of the seat handles in front of her, intending to stay firmly seated. “Really,” she rushed, “I swear it’s just around the corner, I can even look it up on my phone.”

“...wha’s going on? ...Are we ….Are we lost? ,” A voice mumbled.

The inkling boy sitting across the isle brushed the sleep out of his eyes and covered a yawn. “’Cause, if we are, one of us should have definitely stayed awake,” he half-joked.

He adjusted his beanie and ran a quick hand through his spiked-up tentacles, both which were inked a shade of spring green. His eyes were green too, but somehow colored even brighter.

“Right, Dar’?” He stifled another yawn, “...Darya?”

A quick nudge to the side made the inkling girl in the seat next to him snort loudly, then suddenly jerk awake. In a monotone, yet vaguely distressed voiced, she sputtered, “Where are we…?” before placing her hands out like she was regaining balance.

Still gripping the seat handles and now smiling stiffly at her newly conscious bus mates, the inkling girl cautiously replied, “That’s ...what I was wondering.”

The inkling called “Darya” blinked a few times, drowsily glancing around the bus. Her eyes were a brilliant yellow compared to her dark skin and purple-inked hair. Except for the main tentacles that hung at the sides of her face, her front bangs looked crazy disheveled. Possibly hat hair from the purplish baseball cap that conveniently hid it.

But that hat was cool, the girl thought to herself. It had an 8-bit Squidvader stitched onto the front.

Darya leaned past her friend, and wordlessly stared at the inkling girl, who was already staring back.

She froze. She hadn’t intended to be caught gaping. Darya only blinked. Suddenly embarrassed, she jerked her gaze away and tried to smush herself into the bus wall, like it wasn’t any weirder.

In a flat voice, Darya began trying to say something, but the boy inkling started talking and motioning at the door.

“Okay,” he began, “tell me if I’m still half-asleep, but this place looks exactly like that really sketchy skate park you get dropped off at when you--”

“...You’re new here...,” Darya surmised.

“-- first come to Inkopolis,” he finished.

The boy paused with the last syllables of “Inkopolis” still on his lips, and then a look of realization dawned over him.

“Heeyyy! You’re new!” he exclaimed, with a snap and point. “This is totally your first time coming to Inkopolis before you...,” he leaned forward with a gasp. “You’re totally here for ink battles!”

The girl peeked over, not exactly thrilled to be picked out as a newbie so fast, barely catching what he just said.

He suddenly looked ecstatic. “Awwww, you’re new, you’re going to have so much fun with your brand new Splattershot Jr and...”

She peeled herself off the wall to wave her arms. “Wait, hold on! What did you say about being dropped off here?”

She turned to the bus driver, “Is that a thing?!”

The bus driver duly tipped his cap and responded amicably. “If you’re headed to Inkopolis for turf wars the first time, I’m s’posed to make your first stop here.”

The boy rocked in his seat and grinned. “Yeah, a couple years back someone got the idea to stop throwing people right into turf wars without knowing how to use their weapons.”

He presented the door and wiggled his fingers “So, ta-da!”

“...It’s an obstacle course,” Darya added, without a hint of inflection. She sounded unimaginably bored, but was still participating in the conversation for some reason.

The other girl gave a quick glance outside, then tartly replied, “....That’s a park.”

“With balloons!” The boy corrected.

“...You need your ID for that.” Darya finished, just as her friend stood up and started explaining things with excessive hand motions.

“Okay, so you shoot the balloons in this place and then get up on top of this one building….,” he rambled, pacing down the aisle. He then abruptly spun on his toes and grinned widely.

“Hey! Get your splattershot ready! You’re going places with it!”

“What…?” the newbie responded dumbly, the conversation throwing her for a loop. She was fumbling with her battler’s ID, as per Darya’s suggestion.

The green inkling clapped his hands together. “Yes! Your ID! That’s also important,” he said, “but worry about that later. Splattershot Jr, chop-chop!”

The girl paused and shot Darya a debating look, who replied with a disinterested shrug. She remained straight-faced, like this was usual routine for her.

She held up her ID pathetically. “So what do I do with this?”

Darya adjusted her hat. “...I can hold that. Grab your ‘shot.”

She hesitated, but tottered over to the baggage shelves to find her ink tank somewhere. She had already been fidgeting with her weapon on the bus ride over so it was close by.

Truthfully, she was nervous and excited about the weapon, having never used it before. She could only imagine her finger over the trigger as she held it with unfamiliarity and fondness.

Smiling and letting her shoulders relax she turned back to the two inklings, _who were both looking at her photo ID_ \--

“What are you doing?!” She yelped

The boy laughed, “ _What?_ It’s not that bad, “ he grinned, snatching it for a moment to show her, before passing it back to Darya.

On the ID was generic photo of herself, jeering at the camera unintentionally, because taking a good photo for important documentation was just unlikely. Her eyes were inked their usual fiery orange and that day her hair had matched, kind of like today.

Other odd bits of information, like her home address and age were listed below, as well as things she couldn’t decipher. In cursive was her signature, and below it her name.

Darya’s head tilted slightly. “Nerine...?”

Nerine slid her hands down her face and groaned.

“I’m being serious, though!” The boy chuckled. “If it makes you feel any better, my photo is so much worse.”

Darya mouth quirked in dismay. “...It’s not that bad. ...Just need a new one.”

The boy laughed loudly. “‘I just need a new one’ she says. Anyways, are you set to go?”

She was about to say “yes,” but then the inkling boy practically picked her up, sliding her down the aisle and off the bus.

Nerine let herself fall limp as he pushed her onto the sidewalk, a baffled expression plastered on her face. “”Wait, I really get off here.”

“Hah, duuuh. If you want to be,” he mocked a hip announcer’s voice, “ _the freshest squid of the block_ , you gotta learn the moves! Shoot all the balloons!”

Nerine turned around slowly, lowly hissing, _“What balloons?”_

With a burst of elastic, a trio of balloons inflated behind her, making her nearly jump off the sidewalk. The boy simply stood back on the bus steps and grinned, glancing back at Darya who had clearly done something with Nerine’s ID to trigger that.

The boy sidestepped to let Darya chuck the plastic card towards Nerine like a shuriken. “Check your phone,” she added.

Seemingly finished, she started to head back to her seat. Almost…

Darya swung around. “Hey,” she called out.

Nerine grasped her ID expectantly. Darya blinked.

“Don’t die.”

Nerine gave an uncomfortable smile. “I’ll ...try not to?”

Having said her two cents, Darya flashed a small smile and a thumbs up. Nerine could feel her shoulders sagging for some reason.

The boy followed Darya back inside, but not before a parting message.

“In case I don’t see you later, welcome to Inkopolis!” He sounded genuine, “It’ll be the start of your life as you know it.”

He twirled around, then holding the bus doors yelled, “Because life has many doors, Squid girl!”

She pointed an unsure finger at herself. “...Nerine.”

“Oh?” His face lit up. “I’m Corey!” He motioned back, “That’s Darya.”

He tilted his head and gave a final grin, before flippantly waving goodbye.

Nerine hugged her Splattershot Jr, somewhat paralyzed by the recent developments. “Wait… what about...”

The bus took off.

_“...my luggage?”_

\----

Now comfortably seated, Corey leaned back on Darya, stretching his arms in front of him. “Ahaha, what was that? _‘Don’t die?’_ ”

Darya pursed her lips and looked up from her phone. “...You shoved her off a bus,” she said, trying to be vaguely judgemental. Her voice was still toneless even when speaking to her best friend.

The green inkling grinned up with triumph. “And it was my good deed of the day!” He nudged Darya giddly. “I mean, It’s not everyday someone arrives in Inkopolis. Someone needed to push her off.”

Darya shot the tiniest smirk towards him, then slouched in her seat “...What now?”

Corey sank in his seat too. He stared blankly. “We really shouldn’t have fallen asleep. We aren’t going to find anything at this point.”

He glanced around lazily before turning to Darya. “We’ve still got half a day left. How ‘bout we …quit and take the easy way back to Inkopolis?”

“...Is that the bus?”

“The bus.”

Darya lowered her hat over her eyes and got comfy against the window. “Sounds good. ...Wake me up… When there.”

“Wait, what? We’re like 5 minutes from the city---Dar’?” He wagged a hand in front of her to no response. Darya’s head lolled to the side in slumber.

He retracted in slight shock, but immediately got an idea and pulled out his phone, positioning it for a photo.

“Aww, D, you shouldn’t have. This is gonna be my next squidverse post!”


	2. Write your name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahaha yes, I needed this out before school starts. Anyway.... enjoy!

After vacantly watching the bus disappear down the road with all of her personal belongings, Nerine decided she had to do something besides stare. Balloons or not, the least she could do was explore the park.

She jumped down from the sidewalk, which was actually a tall ledge towering over the area, wondering what she’d learn from walking around and shooting things. Part of her wanted to trust the two probably-more-experienced inklings, and the other part of her was seriously miffed by how little the bus driver had to say.

In any case, she was here now. After years of waiting for her own body to develop and for her own, coveted fourteenth birthday, only a park stood between her and her dream city. This was the final push towards Inkopolis.

Nerine gave a self-satisfied grin. No need to psyche herself out like always. This would be a _literal_ walk in the park.

Walking right up to where the balloons inflated, she held her Splattershot Jr confidently, pointing it down like an action movie protagonist, only firing when ready and one-shotting everything in their way with swagger. That was the plan, at least. As soon as she got right under the balloons, her feet locked into place. She nearly keeled over.

A brief shimmer of hexagons glowed under her feet. Her Jr. slipped from her hands, fumbling in the air for a good 5 seconds before landing on the ground just out of reach.

Nerine sputtered. _That might be bad._

She tried lifting up her feet to find it useless. The bottoms of her shoes had been insta-glued to the concrete.

Nerine froze. Was she… stranded? Stuck here until her legs gave out? Or until someone noticed she was gone, probably when she failed to call her parents back…?

Call....

_Check your phone._

Remembering the girl’s last instructions (besides _don’t die_ , but she was clearly working on that), Nerine dug around for her phone. Worst case scenario she could call for help.

Quickly unlocking her shellphone, a new notification appeared over her “Power Squid” lock screen. One new text. She swiped over the anti-hero, Splathulu, suited up in their iconic power suit, and tapped in her passcode, heading straight to Messages.

There was indeed a new text, and from an number she’d never seen before. She briefly wondered if it was from the girl, which was ...hopeful, but that wasn’t the case.

The text read: “We’ll teach you some funky-fresh moves on your way to Inkopolis! (Tap below!) SquidForce”

SquidForce…. She’d definitely heard of that name, but she couldn’t remember where. The text sounded cookie-cutter’d and automated, so it was probably activated with the balloons. Or it could be an elaborate scam.

Whatever. Nerine tapped the link, hoping it wouldn’t take too long to download. She was already stuck; it couldn’t get much worse.

As soon as her thumb hit the link, her screen went dark. Nerine eyed her phone suspiciously. If this was a dumb fraud and her phone was frozen, she was insanely gullible. She started locking and unlocking her screen, then noticing a splotch of color on her screen corner, held her phone above her for light.

It was dark, but there was a loading screen on her phone that quickly changed to a background of cute transparent squids and ink ripples.

Suddenly Nerine began hearing something. Like strumming. A guitar rift started playing, coming from her phone and also… from her wrist? It was catchy. She might have tapped her foot to it _if she could_.

Right, her wrist monitor was still a thing that existed. Currently, on it seemed to be small map of the park with depth and her own location, as well as ink puddles placed further in the park.

Back to her phone, the screen had loaded bright text banners. She couldn’t head back to the home menu of her phone so whatever this was must have completely overridden it.

The text read: “Shoot Ink! Pop the balloons! Aim!”

_Shoot._

With a glance to her Jr, sitting on the floor out of reach, Nerine looked back at the words in uneasiness.

Between the balloons and the sticky ground, this spot was clearly designed to get people to aim… without moving their position. She had learned something a little different. _Hold onto your weapon._

_Yep, this was bad._

Nerine started flailing like an inflatable tube squid, hoping to unstick herself. She could wiggle her feet enough but her shoes were like lead.

Struck with an idea, Nerine hastily undid the laces on her Cream Basics and tried to make a break for it. She put her first foot down and a flash of light hexagons rushed under her, sticking the bottom of her sock to the concrete.

Nerine muffled a frustrated scream. This would be the exact same situation except in her socks.

Her eyes went back to her Splattershot. It just sat there, despairingly, waiting for someone to pick it up. She could practically hear it begging for its moment to shine.

_“Nerine! You’ve waited so long so long for this moment! Together, we’re going to be the best!”_

Nerine leaned her head back and groaned. The imaginary voice she had assigned her Splattershot was tugging at her systemic heartstrings. She couldn’t give up.

Filling up her lungs with a long inhale, Nerine picked up her free foot --still resting on top of her shoes-- and took the most exaggerated step she could. As expected, the foot became immobile, but she could almost reach the gun handle. Bending over again at a weird angle, her fingertips were centimeters from brushing the plastic.

“Come on!” she cried, trying to extend further.

She grimaced but then noticed something. Her hair had started dragging against the floor but wasn’t getting caught. It was only her feet getting stuck, since the Jr. looked fine. She stared for a moment.

…That might work.

Leaning her head over, she swung one of her hair tentacles over and batted the weapon closer until it skidded into her hand.

Grasping the Splattershot, she straightened up and grinned with triumph, pointing it at the closest balloon.

_This was it!_

Tapping the trigger, she jolted back as the Splattershot fired. A spray of orange ink droplets scattered in front of her, tacking against the balloon

It was little underwhelming, and yet she couldn’t stop herself from grinning so wide. The balloon was only misted with ink, so Nerine pointed again, this time making sure to hold down the trigger.

As the first balloon popped under the ink splatter, she jerked her aim to the second balloon, letting ink fall in a fan before lining up her sights.

Messy, brightly colored ink. This was incredible! She was already in love.

Shooting down that target, then twisting around to hit the farthest balloon, Nerine wasn’t surprised this time when a 4th ballon inflated above her. With the Jr. feeling less foreign in her grip, she directed her fire at it, and with that last balloon, the resounding noise of elastic rang throughout the park. Her path became dotted with green balloons.

A shimmer ran under Nerine, releasing her feet and letting her stumble forward. Nerine brushed off her socks and tapped her shoes back in place. Sweet freedom! She quickly dashed down the stairs away from the glowy trap, astounded at how unusually cruel that was for a tutorial gimmick.

She gave a quick glance behind her. A blue edge --no, a barrier-- had been placed right under the ledge she came from. As she followed the walls with her eyes, it was in fact around the entirety of the park. Definitely not intended for climbing past.

There was no coming back the way she came. Which didn’t matter.

Nerine was already running towards the rest of the park. With targets above her, she let her Splattershot splatter lead the way, down the stairs and around a narrow path.

The music’s percussion started picking up, and as she arrived at the real skate park, the message she had been waiting for appeared on her phone.

“Turn into a Squid!”

Skidding down the side of the quarter pipe, Nerine took the cue to morph into her compact, inky squid-self, diving into the the pre-inked path.

Swimming to the end of the stretch gleefully, she tore up from the ink and jumped onto one of the banks, turning back to “kid” form with her weapon aimed at an unsuspecting balloon. After making quick work of the inflatable sucker, she glided backwards, intending to squid into the ink, but landing on the concrete.

Her squid from was fast and sleek in the ink, but awkward and floppy on the ground. And yet as a humanoid, these banks were too steep to scale. She stood straight, shooting the ground under her, then aiming shots in the direction of her target. She could make her own paths!

Following the pattern of inking, swimming, then shooting, Nerine polished off the balloons then headed to--- actually, nah.

She was having a lot of fun zipping up the banks and turning everything orange. Might as well leave no corner un-inked. Soon all of the random brand logos and graffiti that decorated the sides of the park were covered. Not even the tree was spared.

Feeling everything was adequately orange, she looked to her phone for a new suggestion, enjoying the sweet addition of synth instruments it was blasting out. The word banners had some quick tips about swimming up walls and then something about refilling ink while swimming.

Nerine peeked back at her ink tank. She hadn’t even remembered it was there, never mind that the ink levels were changing. It seemed full for now, but that tip would come in handy.

Swimming to the only edge of the park she hadn’t inked, there was a wall between two steep quarter pipes, one of which was conveniently pre-inked. Taking the hard route, Nerine shot her own lane and took a vertical swim, popping a balloon at the second tier and swimming until she found herself in front of a stair-like platform and a glass structure.

The platform formed a ramp forward, the set-up indicating to jump over the small gap into the cavity in the glass case. Despite a running start, her first jump attempt failed and fell a bit short.

Nerine looked at the clear walls curiously. Ink slid off the glass effortlessly. So “un-inkable.” The obstacle course had managed to be straightforward so far, and thus there was only one option.

She glanced at her phone to confirm the idea. Laying down ink on the raised ramp, Nerine backed up, then sped through the ink to gain momentum, jumping at the last second and flinging herself over the gap.

Touching down, inside the glass box, she kept swimming in another premade path, taking a sharp corner and letting an obstructive grate pass through her squid form. Without hesitating, she swam off an edge.

As soon as she hit the ground, she sank to ankles in purple ink. Her phone was telling her that she’d get stuck in ink not her own color and, per the tip, shot a safe zone of orange around her feet.

This area… was different. Weirdly sci-fi for the whole trendy, urban theme the park had. Nerine marveled at the center prop, a giant rusted disk with mismatched plating, half submerged in the ground with a ring of sporadically flickering bulbs around the center indent. A padded chair with springs protruding from the upholstery was left launched to the side, and as Nerine circled around, the other side of the disk was made up of complex machinery and tubing.

_So cool._

As she inked a trail through the purple, she couldn’t help but compare the shade to the girl she’d seen earlier. While both were turf war purples, this was more magenta-ish, yet equally mysterious feeling.

The purple area gave way to a steep wall barricaded by boxes. A supposed dead end, but she knew better. Nerine checked her phone once more.

“Throw bombs! Don’t forget to swim to refill your ink.”

Nerine blinked, remembering the existence of her sub weapon, but being understandably more hesitant to try it out. She pulled out a splat bomb, the triangular explosive already ticking for detonation, and skidded it towards the boxes. Though her own ink couldn’t hurt her, Nerine braced for impact, still watching keenly as the bomb shattered the boxes in a single explosion.

She had thought she loved her Splattershot Jr, but this was just beautiful.

With half of the boxes left, she tried for another bomb, but her ink tank had been depleted. Awesome but costly, Nerine noted.

Squid-dipping into some of the first bomb’s splatter, she tried again, chucking it towards the boxes and having it ricochet back, luckily blowing up with the rest of the boxes before it returned.

Her phone told her this was the last stretch of the park --all she had to do was climb.

Inking her way up, accidentally covering up a Squid Sisters poster and then specifically inking around the duplicate poster on the next level, Nerine couldn’t help but feel giddy. The idol duo would be the hosts of the newscasts in Inkopolis. She’d see them _every day_.

“Alright you’re ready for action! Get ready to super jump!” was the last thing her phone had to say before the tutorial program closed, leaving only the music.

Nerine found herself at the building rooftop at last. She walked around taking in the view. It wasn’t spectacular, not with the high mesh fencing at all sides. The only things on the roof were a rippling jump pad, and a water tank hidden behind a glass sheet.

Nerine stepped closer. Someone had stuck a note to the inside of the glass along with a case of markers.

“^u^ WRITE YOUR NAME!!” was written in overly peppy handwriting. Nerine searched for what the note meant. What looked like graffiti on the far wall was actually a cluster of names. A real act of vandalism had been laid down before, but now there were signatures etched all over the wall like an intricate mural.

Nerine reached over the glass wall and trying to fish out a marker. Orange, where was orange?

She saw a spot smack in the middle where she could fit her name.

Meticulously finishing the last “e”, she capped the marker and stood back. There were so many signatures in different cursives and colors and sizes. And now her name stood with them. Lost in them.

The music track ended seemed to die off. As she slid the marker back in the case and backed over to the jump pad, she couldn’t help but stare at her own name.

It felt like letting go of a pebble on a rocky shore.

Feeling the jump pad ripple under her shoes, she clenched her Splattershot Jr.

That name? That name would stand out in it’s own right eventually. She was no longer a spectator and she would be the freshest if she wanted, because nothing could stop her now. Nothing... but herself.

Not wasting another moment, Nerine turned into a squid and launched herself to wherever the jump pad would take her, soaring against the intense blue sky.

Nothing but clear skies and wispy clouds. As she descended, the large green tower she’d seen from the rooftop now dwarfed her, satellite dishes covering it and Jellies standing around in its highest, panoramic glass rooms.

It was the tallest building around by far, standing proudly between the two statues of the iconic shapeshifters, the giant Kitsune with stern, red-painted eyes, and the impressive, full-framed Tanooki.

As she neared her destination, suddenly there was too much to take in. Buildings lit-up with signs and massive screens, popping logos, and people --so many people-- all traversing the giant crosswalk and wearing bright fashions

Before she knew it, her feet had landed and she was standing in the heart of the city, looking up in awe.

Nerine had arrived right on the hour. The largest screen in the plaza played a jingle and the news of the hour began broadcasting, the fresh logo of the Squid Sisters bursting off the screen.

“Hold on to your tentacles…,” Callie motioned to the hanging monitor. Her long tentacles were sleek and dark, yet she spoke with energy, flashing a radiant grin without trying.

“It’s Inkopolis News time!” Marie answered. Her eyes and posture were poised, her demeanor as fashionable as her pale, tied-back hair.

Nerine beamed. She wasn’t a major fan, but seeing the pop singers on screen made her feel grander than life. And the idols did not disappoint.

“News flash! News flash!” Callie announced.

“What is it? What is it?!” Marie echoed.

A disconcerting headline went across the top of the screen.

_Great Zapfish Gone?_

Nerine’s smile went crooked. This couldn't be another newbie initiation prank.

Callie opened up at the audience, splaying her hands in surprise, “Inkopolis’s great Zapfish has….vanished!”

A photo pair of blurred photos showed the lack of a mysterious blob around the large tower.

“Wait, seriously?” said Marie, recoiling in shock. Nerine echoed that sentiment. _Seriously?_

“If it isn’t recovered soon, are we going to lose power?”

“Oh, I’m sure it’ll be fine… probably.”

Nerine quirked her grin up, nervously. That was all a bit nonchalant. Apparently not to anyone else though. No one watching in the square seemed to care as the Sisters moved right along to the next topic.

_UFO Sighting?!_

The image shown was a pixelated mess, but one could make out a floating disk with a large… tentacle? The tops of city scenery could be seen too, a blue-ish fence edge.

Callie put her hands akimbo with attitude. “Wonder if it’s got anything to do with that UFO crash?”

“Sounds likely to me,” Marie concurred.

Nerine blinked. The blue fencing looked familiar and lead her to briefly recalled the “sci-fi” section in the park.

Her train of thought was cut off as the two idols began announcing the ink battle stages with fun banter. Regular stages, ranked stages... She didn’t know anything about these places or names, but the images alone made her fascinated.

Before long, the newscast was over and with a small hop, Callie announced, “Well that’s all for now! Until next time…”

Both girls put up their hands for their signature pose. Callie winked, Marie remained composed. In melodic unison, they bid Inkopolis adieu.

“Staaaay Fresh!”

\---

The tutorial still had a few things left to say, but it was mostly, like: “This is the plaza, where all the freshest folk come to _chill like krill_.”

And _totally tubular_ to you, too, hip tutorial slang. Nerine sped through it intently, already knowing what she wanted. The part about ink battles.

The first place the tutorial pointed out was the famous landmark of Inkopolis Tower. It was the centerpiece of ink battle culture and on its first floor lobby, turf war matches were held.

That was about as useful as the tutorial got. It mostly gave some more “hip” pointers about the Battle Dojo and not going down alleyways. Nerine was curious what had made that last part necessary. A fun, newsworthy story, perhaps? One involving kids going down dark alleyways?

Anyways, the tutorial did confirm one thing. People who said that they came to Inkopolis for simply for turf wars were plain _lying_.

As hyped as she was to start her first ink battle, her eyes reluctantly drew towards the series of shops along the edge of the Plaza, the iconic Booyah Base. It was a heaven-sent shopping mall, tailored for the needs of ink battles. Weapons, gear, you name it!

As Nerine wandered into the plaza, her eyes grew wide. The inklings around her looked they came out of fashion catalogues. So sporty, so functional, _so fresh_. Nerine barely contained a squeal. Was it weird to be eyeing everyone to see what they wore? Gosh, she didn’t know.

The tutorial had obviously slanted towards checking the Tower first, but the line of stores was so enticing, especially after getting a glimpse of everyone else’s wardrobes. She wouldn’t be able to buy much, but she had to peek inside.

Nerine could feel herself bouncing with excitement as the program stopped, and her phone resumed its normal functions.

Heading up to the first shop she saw, she gaped at the chic display. Through giant windows she could see racks of colorful fashions, and the inside was just as trendy as out. Abstract art garnished bright walls and polished floors. As she entered, a jellyfish in a cap and scarf took notice, quickly greeting her with “Jelly Fresh!”

Clearly the clerk of this place. Nerine was already impressed. He was a Jelly that spoke Inklish!

He waddled forward. “Thanking fo-- BLUUUH!”

Nerine frowned in alarm. Suddenly the jelly was flailing his tentacles dramatically and making a scene. “A fashion crime is in the progress! Moldy customer is moldy,” he cried. “Jelonzo is in the great shock!”

Actual shoppers started looking her direction as “Jelonzo” kept spouting grievances at her. She had to do something. “Wait--wait no! that’s why I’m here, I’m--” She quickly pulled out her battlers ID. She was an ink battler now; she was allowed to shop here.

It seemed to have settled him, but it wasn’t her ticket to shopping here. Jelonzo stretched a tentacle over, disdainfully grabbing the card and pushing it back into Nerine’s hands without so much as a glance. “Level 4 is being required,” he explained sternly.

His tone changed to encouraging.“You are needing more of the fresh for the shopping! Play regular battle in lobby for freshness, yes?” He gave her a hopeful look.

But as soon as he did that, he was already showing Nerine towards the door. “Then again, visiting please,” he sing-songed.

She didn’t need to be shoved out the door this time. Nerine lead herself out, her face hot from embarrassment as she staggered out. What a newbie mistake! And when other people were staring? She needed to be cool, not be such a screw-up--

“Hey, watch where you’re going--!”

Nerine looked up in an instant, but she was too late.

Trying to dig her feet into the ground, she was helpless as she crashed into a passerby, knocking both of them to the ground.


End file.
